2 month hates the car seat!

[BambiEll]

Any tips on how to stop 9 week old DD hating the car seat?
Only seems to be slightly calm if someone is sitting next to her holding her hands which isn't ideal when I need to venture out alone!

Argh I remember this!

I got a toy which strapped onto the handle of his car seat and it kept him entertained and journeys less stressful!
I also played nursery rhymes through the car.

pretty normal!

three choices;

1. never drive (or only with a hand holder)
2. Only drive when dc ready for a sleep
3. power through whilst making reassuring noises.

with dc1 I chose option 1 and didn’t drive from 2-6 months.

with dc2 I have no choice but to power through. He’s now 4 months and rarely cries in the car so I think he’s just got used to it.

its so stressful - you have my sympathy!

It may sound odd but have you tried singing? One of mine was ok all the time we were moving but screamed at ever traffic light, roundabout etc. The only thing that helped was me singing to him. I really do not have a singing voice! But it worked.

@SunshineClouds1 has reminded me that I put uncooked rice in a bottle for dc1 which kept him calm in very long traffic jams but he was 6m by then and yours is still v little for toys

She hates the carseat or she hates the car/driving?
If she's happy in the seat until you leave, talk/sing constantly, put a picture of you in front of her, and maybe one of those microwave beanbag things.
If she hates the seat, car or not, get a new seat if you can afford it. Go some where you can test and see if there's any where she'll let you walk away.

A little mirror helped my daughter, you can get one that can be fitted so that the child can see themself and also the front of the car which seemed to distract and reassure.

My 13 week old is like this now!! My in laws live an hour and half away and we visit them once a week. We have had to resort to giving her a dummy just while in the car as DH couldn't concentrate and I hated seeing her get so, so distressed.
We leave her without it until she starts to cry and once it's in she usually falls asleep. We're now managing smaller car rides without it so I think she's getting used to it!

Thanks for all your tips! Gahhh so stressful isn't it! I'm so glad I'm not the only one, I just keep repeating to myself 'it's just a phase'

She's fine in the car seat when not in the car so it's not like it's uncomfortable I do just think she's lonely (is she too young for separation anxiety??)
She also has a dummy but gets so stressed that she can never keep it in which then adds to the stress.

I will try a toy and singing tomorrow on a quick test drive and see if that works!

Are you feeding close to putting her in seat?
My DS is 4.5 mo (so may have simply grown out of it, who knows) I've noticed DS cries much less if it's been over an hour since his last feed and he goes in the seat. He'll look around or fall straight asleep. I also took out the semi circle wedge in the insert so he sits more upright now.

If your passenger airbag can be switched off you can put her seat there, that calms some of them because they can see you.

If it wouldn't distract you, you can put the seat in the front if you can disable the airbag. She might feel better then.

I just didn't go anywhere in the car longer than 10 minutes for a long time... It was difficult to work around but the alternative was she make herself sick from screaming! She's now 2 and will sit quiet as a mouse on a 2 hour journey happily looking out the window so it didn't last forever!

My DD screams getting in the car seat but is fine once I start driving, and then starts screaming once I stop at a red traffic light and only stops when I start driving again… never simple is it… 😂